oh happy day!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEL!

For the last 6 months every time I have gone into the kitchen do wash dishes I have had to look at my broken, won’t work if my life depended on it dishwasher. Hand washing it was. And I have to say it was getting pretty old. It had gone beyond just wanting a new dishwasher, I needed a new dishwasher!

After countless hours searching, I finally found the perfect one. And the best part… she was was on sale! After patiently waiting for was seemed like forever {okay it was only four days}, she was delivered and my sweet hubby installed her last night for me. So far I have nothing but good things to say. She is a dream!

{Insert happy dance here}

{This is the Whirlpool Gold Energy Star Dishwasher! It was beautiful and on sale!!! Normally $749.99 this beauty was on sale for $466.68 plus a 10% off online coupon from retailmenot.com. For a total sale price of $420! Now I am doing my happy dance :)}

The boys on the other hand were more excited about the box she came in. I don’t blame them. I don’t think I have ever met a kid excited about doing the dishes.

Baylee was ready for her close up!

She was also ready for her nightly game of fetch.
Ain’t she adorable?

Now I am off to do some dishes :)

mini bagel pizzas

The other day I was brain storming trying to think of fun ideas for lunch. My boys definitely get tired of sandwiches. There is only so many ways you can make a sandwich exciting! I know that they love those little frozen mini bagel bites, but to be honest with you, I think they suck! If you eat them right after you bake them they are great, but if you let them sit at all they get all hard and chewy. Not good at all! So I thought ‘why can’t I make my own’?

So… I bought little mini bagels {and I had English muffins laying around the house}, made a quick and easy pizza sauce, got little mini pepperonis, some pizza blend cheese and I personally like to add some sliced jalapeno for a little kick and extra flavor. Bake at 375* until cheese is bubbly {about 5-8 min}.
Voila! Kids and hubby loved them!

Mini Bagel Pizza Bites

mini bagels or english muffins
pizza sauce {store bought or make your own}
mini pepperonis
mozzarella or pizza blend cheese
any other toppings that you may like

preheat oven to 375*

1. half the bagels/English muffins

2. spread on the pizza sauce.
you may have to use a little more because the bread soaks it up

3. sprinkle on a layer of cheese

4. add pepperonis and any other toppings if you choose

5. place directly on rack and bake for 5 min.
if cheese has not melted all the way bake for 2 more min. and check again.

 

inspired: project “purge”

I was reading one of my favorite organizing websites is iheartorganizing.com and came across her post ‘Project Purge’ and it inspired me to do my very own ‘project purge’. BTW, Jen is a flipping genius! There are so many awesome ideas and so much inspiration in her posts. She really makes me want to organize!

Looking around my house you would think that my family needs to be featured on an episode of hoarders. Okay, it’s not really that bad, but you get the idea.

Over the next 4 weeks I am going to go through each room in the house and decide what needs to be thrown away, what can be sold, and what we should keep. Right now I am in the whole “less is more” frame of mind. There is definitely a lot of the ‘more’ around my house and I need a whole lot ‘less’.

Here is my plan:

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week 1 {jan.23rd-28th}: bedrooms

week 2 {jan.30-feb.4rd}: office

week 3 {feb.6th-12th}: living room/entry/kitchen/laundry room

week 4 {feb.13th-18th}: garage

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Maybe I will inspire someone else to ‘purge’ around there house just as Jen has inspired me. I would love to hear from you!

a week with sick babies

This last week was definitely chaotic.

We started off the week with an extra two days off from school. We got haircuts and I got to work on making my cash envelopes (more on that in another post :)) We had lot’s of fun together!

Then came Wednesday.

I woke Jake up to get ready for school and he was crying because his head hurt. Now, I know he can be dramatic so at first I was skeptical. But he was running a 101* fever so it was off to the doctor instead of school. Come to find out my poor guy had strep! Then came the fun part. As we were walking out they reminded me that it was time for Tyler’s 4 year checkup. As I was looking at a calendar to schedule they suggested that they just get me right back in and get it over with. No biggie right? WRONG! He needed not one, not two, but 3 SHOTS! So here I was with kiddo with strep and one that just got his arms and legs poked.

Thankfully everyone (including mommy) was much better when we were able to lay down and watch TV. So far it looks like mommy and daddy have dodged the bullet and did not catch what Jacob had. Sadly, I have to take Tyler back to the doctor tomorrow. He has been running a low grade fever and coughing non stop for 3 days :(

xx Praying for a mostly sick free week xx

Here is a look at my week through instagram eyes…

{Tyler getting ready to get his hair buzzed off}

{Jacob hooked on his Lego Wii game}

{Cash envelope trial run}

{Iced vanilla soy latte. Yum!}

{My baby boy}

{A very sick Jacob}

{This stays attached to my bank card at all times}

Awesomeness!

I am extremely excited that I can now post from my iPad.

It's the little things in life that make me happy :)

I will be back tomorrow to post and get caught back up. It has been a long week of kids with strep.

Goodnite!

Pizza on a Stick

My boys new favorite meal is Pizza on a Stick. I first got the idea from Bread in Five, but I tweaked it and tonja-ised it so it was easier to make. And Instead of making my own bread, I have found that it is much easier using Pillsbury’s Rustic French Bread :)

The first step is to roll the dough out on a clean counter and spread and a thin layer of pizza sauce about a half inch from the edges.

Next sprinkle a layer of cheese and make three lines of pepperonis. It will look similar to below.

The rolling part I think is the hardest part. You have to be careful not to tear the dough.

After it is all rolled up and purdy, slice like you would when making cinnamon rolls. *Make sure you are using a sharp knife* My knife was not near sharp enough, so it was a little tricky.

Lay out on a baking sheet and bake for 20 min at 350*

Do de do de do de do….. (think Jeopardy them song)

BAM! Pizza rolls!

Then you place the pizza rolls on a wooden skewer and you get….

Pizza on a Stick!

(That is pizza sauce for dipping)

The BIG 4

Yesterday we celebrated Tyler’s 4th birthday with a quite get together at home. I have been bad these last couple of months. I didn’t throw a party for Jacob, so I decided to not have a party for Tyler either. I know some people may think that is bad, but I have not been home on a weekend in over 2 months!
Lyryn, I needed you here to make a super awesome cake and plan a rockin’ party :)

Here is Tyler holding a pic of him when he was just 1 day old. Doesn’t he look so big?!

They so misspelled Tyler’s name on his cake. They spelled it T-y-l-O-r instead of with an E. So I had to do a quick fix.

The birthday boy just woke up from his afternoon nap.

The birthday table that I set up.
(Funny story about the Christmas tree birdhouse next to the cake and pizza on a stick.)

When I asked Tyler what he wanted for his birthday dinner he told me ‘pizza with the stick in it’.
I had made pizza on a stick for Jacob’s birthday and now my boys can’t seem to get enough of it.
(Recipe will be up tomorrow)

Michael told me if I made pizza on a stick that I had to make Mexican Sushi as well.
I know it may sound strange, but they really are oh so yummy!

Tyler eating his pizza…

Time to blow out the candle!!! Make a Wish!

For a week when I asked Tyler what he wanted for his birthday he would tell me ‘a Christmas tree birdhouse’. I had no clue what he meant or why he wanted one. But I didn’t ask questions. If that is what my sweet boy wanted that is what I was going to get. And lo and behold, I went to Penney’s and they had their Christmas ornaments 75% off. I swear my odds were better at cash 5 then finding what he wanted. But I did! And there it is. The story of the Christmas tree birdhouse :)

More hot wheels!!!

Tyler looking over his Legos.

CHEESE!

He is rockin’ the messy hair do while he tears into his new toys.

And there you have a simple, yet lovely 4th birthday party for a very special boy!

My Baby is 4

Today has been a whirlwind of emotions and denial. Four years ago today my doctor sent me to the hospital to be induced. At 9:36pm I gave birth to a healthy 6 pound 6 ounce baby boy. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would be a mother to not one, but two boys.

I want to start by saying that I NEVER wanted kids. I was way to selfish to want to consider sharing my time with a baby. I was in no way ready for a what lied ahead. Then one day in April God surprised me with a baby. A baby that I never knew I wanted. A baby I loved more than life itself. Then that sweet baby started getting bigger and I started to get ‘baby fever’. Something that my dear sweet hubby tried to cure. But it didn’t work. I prayed. I cried. I even think there was one point where I begged. I had never wanted anything more than I wanted another baby. And in God’s right timing I was pregnant again. (I think it was like a month or something like that, too long for me lol) And I won’t lie, when that sonogram tech told me at 12 weeks that I was having another boy I was devastated. I cried for a week. Then one day I woke up and saw how awesome my sweet Jacob was and couldn’t wait to have another boy. God knew exactly what I needed :) I won’t tell you the last four years have been easy breezy, but they have been the best four years of my life! Never in a million years would I have thought that my life would have turned out this incredibly blessed.

I hope that my baby know that his mommy loves him more than words can say and that I could not have asked for a better boy. He will forever be my baby. I love you oh so much Hoss!

Happy Birthday Tyler!

10.5

It has been a super crazy winter here in the desert!

Saturday they said that we were going to get hit with a record breaking snowstorm.

And sure enough that is what we got! Throughout the day on Monday we got a whopping 10.5” of snow!!!

Here are a few pics what it looked like yesterday.
(The snow had already started melting by the time I got my camera out)

New Year, New Set of Goals

I am horrible about making New Year’s resolutions and never sticking to them. I always make this huge list of things that I want to do, but never end up doing.

So I have decided not to call them resolutions, instead I call them goals. For some reason it is easier for me to get done when I think of them like that. Nutty, I know!

Here are my major goals for the new year…

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1. Read my bible more. Read the kids their bible more. Convince Michael to read his bible more.

2. To actually get out that get er’ done list and fix up our house!

3. Lose 20 lbs. (I gained that much when I quite smoking)

4. Eat better. Make healthier meals. Have healthier snacks for the kids.

5. Workout at least 5 days a week!

6. Be better with money and work on paying off my urban burban.

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I have already started on 99% of everything on that list. And if you know me at all that is a HUGE!

Have you set any goals for the new year?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

Hope that you are all having a blessed beginning to 2012.

 

Can’t wait to post back later with some new year’s changes :)